Springtails US Shipping Policy and Live Arrival Guarantee

As stated during the checkout process, by placing an order with Springtails US, you agree to all terms outlined on this page.

Springtails and isopods DO NOT SHIP to Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, US territories, or internationally. You will not be able to place your order if the shipping address is in any of these locations.

Springtails US Shipping Schedule:

Live animal (springtail & isopod) orders ship only on Fridays.
Order cutoff is 8AM CST on Thursdays.
Live animal orders placed after the Thursday cutoff will not ship until Friday of the next week.
I only ship live animals on Fridays to ensure the fastest shipping times for the safety of the animals.
The 8AM Thursday cutoff is to allow for adequate order prep time as Springtails US is a one-person business.
Supply orders will typically ship within 4 business days of the order being received and typically ship Mon-Wed.
Live animal orders typically deliver Mon-Wed and supply orders typically deliver within 3-7 days depending on the service selected. Delivery times can vary and I package live animals to survive a week or longer in travel, even in extreme weather.
If your live animal order has been in transit for a week or more please email me at ryne@springtails.us.
NOTE: Sometimes I do not ship due to holidays, unexpected life events, extreme weather, etc. In these cases, a notice will be placed on the website header OR you will receive an an email informing of the unplanned-for delay.
All order updates are sent via email from ryne@springtails.us. Be sure to whitelist this email address.

Hold For Pickup Policy:

Hold For Pickup is a USPS service allowing you to pick up your package at your local post office rather than have it delivered directly.

Orders containing isopods will be shipped with a Hold For Pickup label if forecasted low temperatures are below 40F and highs are above 85F on expected delivery days.
If your order only contains springtails then it will be delivered directly to your address regardless of weather.
Any order can be held for pickup if requested in order comments.
Isopods are typically more sensitive than springtails to temperature swings, and Hold For Pickup keeps them from experiencing adverse temps on delivery vehicles.
You can request that HFP be waived for your order containing isopods, but if your forecasted temps are outside of the safe range for home delivery then the Live Arrival Guarantee will be void.

Typically the USPS tracking page will display the post office address where the package can be picked up. Sometimes orders shipped Hold For Pickup are mistakenly labeled on the USPS tracking page as "Delivered" or another message when they are ready for you at the post office. If you have any questions about your order's tracking status or wether or not your order was marked Hold For Pickup, please email me at ryne@springtails.us.

Live Arrival Guarantee:

In the rare event of deaths during shipment, I offer refunds or reshipments if they meet these three conditions:

Must contact on the same day as delivery with photo and/or video proof of the deaths.
Hold For Pickup orders must be picked up within 36 hours of arrival at the post office. The above criteria applies with "delivery day" being the day that you picked up the order from the post office.
Deaths must be beyond just the extras. Orders always ship with extras, for example, a 10ct of isopods usually ships with 2-5 extra, a 25ct of springtails ship with 5-10+ extra, etc.

Refunds are offered for the full price of the animals that perished + the $20 shipping fee.
Replacements are 100% free.
If your order has been in transit for a week or more you may qualify for a refund or reshipment if I believe that it will not deliver in a reasonable timeframe. I aim to be as accommodating as possible on this point.
The springtails Thalassaphorura encarpata and Xenylla grisea are very small and slow moving and are often mistaken as dead, please look at them closely under magnification to detect movement and give them a small amount of food for a few hours to see if they move to it before reporting them as DOA (Dead on Arrival).
Please email me at ryne@springtails.us for LAG claims.

What to expect with your live animal order:

All live animals ship in foam insulated boxes which include at least one form of temperature control pack. These can include Uline Cold Packs, UniHeat Heat Packs, and Phase 22 Cryopaks.
Live animals ship in deli cups ranging from 2oz to 8oz, with each species or morph in separate cups. Springtails ship on damp paper towel or Springtail Clay, isopods ship on sphagnum moss (see FAQ for more information). Live animals and temperature control packs are kept secure with layers of packing paper.
After receiving your package, open it on the side with the shipping label and remove the foam insulation lid. Gently remove packing paper and temperature control packs to reveal the animal shipping containers at the bottom of the box and enjoy your new bugs!

Live animal orders ship via USPS Priority Mail which is not an express service with 100% guaranteed delivery times. This means that it can take up to a week after shipping for your order to deliver. The $20 shipping fee not only pays for the shipping label but also the foam insulated box, temperature control packs, and other packaging materials.
Uline Cold Packs are most commonly used at room temperature and placed near the animal shipping containers to slow temperature changes the animals experience. Cold Packs are used frozen only in extreme heat and will be at the top of the box with a layer of packing paper separating them from the animals.
Heat Packs are used in cold weather and have a layer of packing paper separating them from the animals.
Phase 22 Cryopaks slowly change from liquid to solid at 72F and very effectively maintain safe temperatures. They are included in most packages and always used when Heat Packs or frozen Cold Packs are used.

Order Cancellation and Refunds:

Any order can be cancelled with a full refund if requested before the order ships.
Refunds after shipment or reshipments are handled on a case by case basis for supply orders though I aim to be as accomodating as possible.
Refunds after shipment or reshipments for live animal orders are discussed in the above "Live Arrival Guarantee" section.

Scheduled Shipping Breaks (2026):

Read under each of the provided dates for information on how the shipping break will impact live animal orders and supply orders.
In most cases, supply order shipping is not on hold for as long as live animal orders are.
If there is a very large backlog after a shipping break I may have to space the shipping of some orders across separate days/weeks, in which case those affected will be notified via email.
Shipping breaks will be announced across the website when the time for each comes.

June 4th - July 2nd
- Reason for shipping break: My son will be having open heart surgery following a week off to spend with family.
- All orders placed after the 8AM CST Thursday cutoff on June 4th will not ship until July 2nd. There may be some orders that do not ship until the following week (July 10th).
- Live animal orders are shipping on Thursday, July 2nd because the USPS will be closed on July 3rd. The cutoff for live animal orders this week will be Wednesday.
- Supply orders will resume shipping June 30th - July 2nd.
Late August - Mid September
- Reason for shipping break: My first daughter is due in late August and I will be taking time off to support my wife.
- Live animal orders and supply orders will stop shipping for a duration of time to be determined at her birth. Delay will most likely be announced without prior notice.
November 19th - December 4th
- Reason for shipping break: Thanksgiving will cause shipping delays which will impact live animal orders.
- Live animal orders placed after the 8AM CST Thursday cutoff on November 19th will not ship until December 4th.
- Supply orders will still ship as expected.
December 10th 2026 - January 8th 2027
- Reason for shipping break: Christmas will cause massive shipping delays which will impact live animal orders.
- Live animal orders placed after the 8AM CST Thursday cutoff on December 10th will not ship until January 8th.
- Supply orders will still ship as expected during this time, though expect the packages to take longer than usual to deliver.

Springtails US Shipping Policy and Live Arrival Guarantee

As stated during the checkout process, by placing an order with Springtails US, you agree to all terms outlined on this page.

Springtails and isopods DO NOT SHIP to Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, US territories, or internationally. You will not be able to place your order if the shipping address is in any of these locations.

Springtails US Shipping Schedule:

Live animal (springtail & isopod) orders ship only on Fridays.

Order cutoff is 8AM CST on Thursdays.

Live animal orders placed after the Thursday cutoff will not ship until Friday of the next week.

I only ship live animals on Fridays to ensure the fastest shipping times for the safety of the animals.

The 8AM Thursday cutoff is to allow for adequate order prep time as Springtails US is a one-person business.

Supply orders will typically ship within 4 business days of the order being received and typically ship Mon-Wed.

Live animal orders typically deliver Mon-Wed and supply orders typically deliver within 3-7 days depending on the service selected. Delivery times can vary and I package live animals to survive a week or longer in travel, even in extreme weather.

If your live animal order has been in transit for a week or more please email me at ryne@springtails.us.

NOTE: Sometimes I do not ship due to holidays, unexpected life events, extreme weather, etc. In these cases, a notice will be placed on the website header OR you will receive an an email informing of the unplanned-for delay.

All order updates are sent via email from ryne@springtails.us. Be sure to whitelist this email address.

Hold For Pickup Policy:

Hold For Pickup is a USPS service allowing you to pick up your package at your local post office rather than have it delivered directly.

Orders containing isopods will be shipped with a Hold For Pickup label if forecasted low temperatures are below 40F and highs are above 85F on expected delivery days.

If your order only contains springtails then it will be delivered directly to your address regardless of weather.

Any order can be held for pickup if requested in order comments.

Isopods are typically more sensitive than springtails to temperature swings, and Hold For Pickup keeps them from experiencing adverse temps on delivery vehicles.

You can request that HFP be waived for your order containing isopods, but if your forecasted temps are outside of the safe range for home delivery then the Live Arrival Guarantee will be void.

Live Arrival Guarantee:

In the rare event of deaths during shipment, I offer refunds or reshipments if they meet these three conditions:

Must contact on the same day as delivery with photo and/or video proof of the deaths.

Hold For Pickup orders must be picked up within 36 hours of arrival at the post office. The above criteria applies with "delivery day" being the day that you picked up the order from the post office.

Deaths must be beyond just the extras. Orders always ship with extras, for example, a 10ct of isopods usually ships with 2-5 extra, a 25ct of springtails ship with 5-10+ extra, etc.

Refunds are offered for the full price of the animals that perished + the $20 shipping fee.

Replacements are 100% free.

If your order has been in transit for a week or more you may qualify for a refund or reshipment if I believe that it will not deliver in a reasonable timeframe. I aim to be as accommodating as possible on this point.

Please email me at ryne@springtails.us for LAG claims.

What to expect with your live animal order:

All live animals ship in foam insulated boxes which include at least one form of temperature control pack. These can include Uline Cold Packs, UniHeat Heat Packs, and Phase 22 Cryopaks.

After receiving your package, open it on the side with the shipping label and remove the foam insulation lid. Gently remove packing paper and temperature control packs to reveal the animal shipping containers at the bottom of the box and enjoy your new bugs!

​

Heat Packs are used in cold weather and have a layer of packing paper separating them from the animals.

Phase 22 Cryopaks slowly change from liquid to solid at 72F and very effectively maintain safe temperatures. They are included in most packages and always used when Heat Packs or frozen Cold Packs are used.​​

Order Cancellation and Refunds:

Any order can be cancelled with a full refund if requested before the order ships.

Refunds after shipment or reshipments are handled on a case by case basis for supply orders though I aim to be as accomodating as possible.

Refunds after shipment or reshipments for live animal orders are discussed in the above "Live Arrival Guarantee" section.

Scheduled Shipping Breaks (2026):

​Read under each of the provided dates for information on how the shipping break will impact live animal orders and supply orders.

In most cases, supply order shipping is not on hold for as long as live animal orders are.

If there is a very large backlog after a shipping break I may have to space the shipping of some orders across separate days/weeks, in which case those affected will be notified via email.

Shipping breaks will be announced across the website when the time for each comes.

​​​​​

June 4th - July 2nd

Reason for shipping break: My son will be having open heart surgery following a week off to spend with family.​

All orders placed after the 8AM CST Thursday cutoff on June 4th will not ship until July 2nd. There may be some orders that do not ship until the following week (July 10th).

Live animal orders are shipping on Thursday, July 2nd because the USPS will be closed on July 3rd. The cutoff for live animal orders this week will be Wednesday.

Supply orders will resume shipping June 30th - July 2nd.

Late August - Mid September

Reason for shipping break: My first daughter is due in late August and I will be taking time off to support my wife.​

Live animal orders and supply orders will stop shipping for a duration of time to be determined at her birth. Delay will most likely be announced without prior notice.

November 19th - December 4th

Reason for shipping break: Thanksgiving will cause shipping delays which will impact live animal orders.​

Live animal orders placed after the 8AM CST Thursday cutoff on November 19th will not ship until December 4th.

Supply orders will still ship as expected.

December 10th 2026 - January 8th 2027

Reason for shipping break: Christmas will cause massive shipping delays which will impact live animal orders.​

Live animal orders placed after the 8AM CST Thursday cutoff on December 10th will not ship until January 8th.

Supply orders will still ship as expected during this time, though expect the packages to take longer than usual to deliver.

Phase 22 Cryopaks slowly change from liquid to solid at 72F and very effectively maintain safe temperatures. They are included in most packages and always used when Heat Packs or frozen Cold Packs are used.

Read under each of the provided dates for information on how the shipping break will impact live animal orders and supply orders.

Reason for shipping break: My son will be having open heart surgery following a week off to spend with family.

Reason for shipping break: My first daughter is due in late August and I will be taking time off to support my wife.

Reason for shipping break: Thanksgiving will cause shipping delays which will impact live animal orders.

Reason for shipping break: Christmas will cause massive shipping delays which will impact live animal orders.